### 48574 Federal Register / Vol. 53, No. 231 / Thursday, December 1, 1988 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.

Office of Conservation and Renewable Energy

[Case No. F-0161



### Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products; Decision and Order Granting Waiver From Furnace Test Procedures to Rheem Manufacturing Co.

AGENCY : Department of Energy.

ACTION : Decision and order.

SUMMARY : Notice is given of the Decision and Order (Case F-016) granting Rheem Manufacturing Company a waiver for its Models (-) GEB and (-) GKA condensing warm air furnaces from the existing DOE furnace test procedures. -

FOR FURTHER INFOR MATION CONTACT.
Esher R. Kweller, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Conservation andRenewable Energy, Mail Station CE132;Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-9127 Eugene Margolis, Esq., U.S. Department of Energy, Office of General Counsel, Mail Station GC-12, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington. DC 20585, (202) 586-9507

SUPPLEMENTARY INFOR MATION, In accordance with 10 CFR 430.27(1), notice is hereby given of the issuance of the Decision and Order set out below. In the Decision and Order. Rheem Manufacturing Company has been granted a waiver for its models (-) GEB and (-) GKA condensing warm air furnances, permitting the company to use an alternate test method. Issued in Washington, DC. November 23, 1968. John It Berg.' Acting Assistant Secretary. Conservation and Renewable Energy.

Decision 'and Order The Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products was established pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, Pub. L. 94-163, 89 Stat. 917, as amended by the National Energy Conservation Policy Act, Pub. L. 95-619, the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987, Pub. L. 100-12, 92 Stat. 3266, and the National Appliance Energy Conservation Amendments of 1988, Pub. L.100-357, which requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to prescribe standardized test procedures to measure the energy consumption of certain consumer products, including furnaces. The intent of the test procedures is to provide a comparable measure of energy consumption that will assist consumers in making purchase decisions. These test procedures appear at 10 CFR Part 430, Subpart B. The Department of Energy amended the test procedure regulations by adding § 430.27 on September 26, 1980, creating the waiver process. 45 FR 64108. DOE further amended the Department's appliance test procedure waiver process to allow the Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Renewable Energy to grant an interim waiver from test procedure requirements to - manufacturers that have petitioned DOE for a waiver of such prescribed product test procedures. 51 FR 42823, November 26, 1986. The waiver process allows the Assistant Secretary of Conservation and Renewable Energy to waive temporarily test procedures for a particular basic model when a petitioner shows that the basic model contains one or more design characteristics which prevent testing of the basic model according to the prescribed test procedures or when the prescribed test procedures may evaluate the basic model in a manner so unrepresentative of its true energy consumption characteristcs as to provide materially inadequate comparative data. 45 FR 64108 (September 26, 1980). Pursuant to § 430.27(1), the Department shall publish in the Federal Register notice of each waiver granted. and any limiting conditions of each waiver.

### Federal Register / Vol. 53, No . 231 / Thursday, December 1, 1988 / Notices

Rheem Manufacturing Company (Rheem), filed a "Petition for Waiver" in accordance with $430.27 of 10 CFR Part 430. DOE published in the Federal Register Rheem's petition and solicited comments, data, and information respecting the petition. 53 FR 25535 (July 7,4988). One comment was received, from Teledyne Laars, which supported granting the waiver to Rheem.
DOE consulted with the Federal Trade Commission on October 7, 1988 concerning the Rheem Petition.

Assertions and Determinations Rheem's petition seeks a waiver from the DOE test provisions that require a 1.5 minute time delay between the ignition of the burner and the starting of the circulating air blower. Instead, Rheem requests the allowance to test using a 30 second blower time delay when testing its (-) GEB and (--) GKA condensing gas furnaces. Rheem states achieved following the coot down test and the required measurements - performed

, turn on the furnaces and measure the flue gas temperature, using the thermocouple grid described above, at 0.5 and 2

. 5 minutes after the main burner(s) comes on

. After the burner
start

-up, delay the blower start-up by 1.5 minutes ( t-), unless: (1) The furnace employs a single motor to drive the power burner and the indoor air circulating blower, in which case the burner and blower shall be started together; (2) the furnaces are designed to operate using an unvarying delay time that is other than 1.5 minutes, in which case the fan control shall be permitted to start the blower; or (3) the delay time would result in the activation of a temperature safety device which shuts off the burner, in which case the fan control shall be permitted to start the blower, In the latter case, if the fan



### set it to start the control is adjustable

, that live the 30 second delay blower at the. highest temperature. If the indicative of how the ( -) GEB and (-) GKA models actually operate and since . fan. control is permitted to start the blower, measure title delay, (t--),using such a dela 

### lts i

re y su n an energy savings of approximately 1.8 percent, a stop watch, Record the measured f h 

### the waiver should be granted. Since the blower controls incorporated on the Rheem condensing furnaces are designed to impose a 30 second blower delay in every instance or eat- up test temperatures

. During the oil-fueled furnaces

, maintain the draft in the flue pipe within i- 0.01 in. of water gauge of the manufacturers recommended on-period draft." of start up, and since the current test (ii) With the exception of the provisions do not specifically address modification set forth in subparagraphs this type of control, DOE agrees that a (ii above, Rheem Manufacturing waiver should be granted to allow the 30 Company shall comply in all respects second blower time delay when testing with the test procedures specified in the Rheem (-) GEB and (-) GKA Appendix N of 10 CFR Part 430, Subpart condensing furnaces. Accordingly, with B. 

### regard to testing the Rheem (-) GEB and (-) GKA condensing furnaces, (3) The waiver shall remain in effect today's Decision and Order exempts from the date of issuance of this order Rheem from the existing provisions until. the Department of Energy regarding blower controls and allows prescribes final test procedures testing with the 30 second delay. appropriate to the (-) GEB and (-) 

### It is therefore ordered that: GKA models of condensing warm air (1) The "Petition for Waiver" filed-by Rheem Manufacturing Company (F-016), is hereby granted as set forth in paragraph (2) below, subject to the provisions of paragraph (3) and (4). (2) Notwithstanding any contrary provisions of Appendix N of 10 CFR. Part 430, Subpart B, Rheem Manufacturing Company shall be permitted to test its (-) GEB and (-) GKA condensing gas furnaces on the basis of the test procedure specified in10 CFR Part 430, with the modification set forth below- (i) 3.0 Test procedure. Testing and measurements shall be as specified in section 9 of ANSI/ASItARE 103-1982 with the inclusion of the following procedures in lieu of section 9.3.1 of ANSI/ASHARE 103-1982. Gas- and Oil-Fueled Central Furnaces. After equilibrium conditions are furnaces manufactured by Rheem Manufacturing Company.
[4) This waiver is based upon the presumed validity of statements. allegations, and documentary materials submitted by the applicant. This waiver may be revoked or modified at any time upon a determination that the factual basis underlying the application is incorrect.

Issued In Washington, DC, November N. 1983.
John R. Berg,
Acting Assistant Secretory, Conservation and Renewable Energy.

(FR Doc. 88-27717 Filed 11-30-88: 3:45 ain

BILLING CODE 6450-O1-ME 

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